Your Turn — Feb. 19, 2013

Updated 5:00 pm, Monday, February 18, 2013

A recent visitor was delighted with all the sights in San Antonio, including the River Walk, but what captivated her the most were the charm and friendliness of the residents.

A recent visitor was delighted with all the sights in San Antonio, including the River Walk, but what captivated her the most were the charm and friendliness of the residents.

Photo: File Photo, San Antonio Express-News

Your Turn — Feb. 19, 2013

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Instant memories

I had the occasion to visit your city recently and feel compelled to say this: While I truly enjoyed the history, architecture, art and culture of the area, I have to say the best memory of my visit will always remain the overwhelming warmth and hospitality I was greeted with.

Without exception, everyone, from parking attendant to street sweeper to San Antonio River Walk boat tour operator to restaurant wait staff (I could go on and on), was gracious, welcoming, friendly and genuine. Nowhere else have I come across this level of gracious hospitality or been treated so kindly and with such great care. I will find an opportunity to visit again, especially as there is so much I didn't get to see and do.

I highly recommend your city for others to visit. Thanks for a memorable time, friends!

If Mr. Obama thinks gun control is such a good idea, ask him how it is working for Mexico? By the way, don't we have federal laws against the use of certain drugs? That's going pretty well, too, right? Why won't some politician speak up? I think they are afraid of offending our neighbors to the South. Got to stay politically correct these days.

I am rankled by the ranting about undocumented persons living in this country having broken the law. Virtually none of these thousands has endangered life, limb or property in the process. Indeed, they have promoted American welfare and prosperity through child care, food services, agricultural production, home construction and other vital services.

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Yes, the process of entering or remaining in this country without the required legalities is an issue, but let these lawbreakers be penalized for the way a birth-documented citizen would be for breaking the law (which is done by almost all of us at some time) — with a legal process followed by penalties appropriate to the situation rather than the inhumane treatment they have been facing. Let us move forward on this.

To my way of thinking, most of these undocumented individuals have been good citizens without the citizenship.

I was a Brownie, a Girl Scout and a Marine (the equivalent of the Sea Scouts). I want homosexuals to have the same legal and religious rights as heterosexuals. That doesn't mean I'm gay. I also want equality and respect for blacks. That doesn't mean I'm black.

Martin Luther King Jr. died so everyone could be free. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet. To base discrimination on the Bible's word is illogical. Some people ought to open that book and read it.

There will never be peace in the Middle East. Religious infighting and tribalism will not allow peace or democracy. There is no common thread such as national unity to bring them together except for soccer.

One only has to look at Egypt, Iraq and Libya to see that democracy will not work. Even the rebels in Syria cannot come together to defeat Assad. Afghanistan will surely fall to the Taliban once we leave. The only way to keep the populace in check is to have dictatorial rule. When the so-called Arab Spring started kicking out the dictators, the region became unstable. Worst thing we ever did was get rid of Saddam Hussein. Iran only became a problem once he was gone.After 9/11, Americans were angry and wanted revenge. President Bush looked around the Middle East to find a scapegoat. Saddam filled the bill. Never mind that he had nothing to do with 9/11 and had no WMDs. America cheered as we blasted Bagdad with “shock and awe.” In the end, we created a mess and left it that way. We wasted billions of dollars. Countless Americans and Iraqis were killed or wounded. We made matters worse. Afghanistan will be no different. Why should we offer up our sons and daughters so a bunch of corrupt politicians half way around the world can become rich at our expense?

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Send letters to: letters@express-news.net

Letters may also be mailed to Letters, Express-News, P.O. Box 2171, San Antonio, TX 78297. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Length? The shorter the better — long enough to make your point. All letters are subject to editing for length and clarity.

We need to get out of the Middle East and stay out! That includes Africa . Let the crazies fight among themselves. Let Saudi Arabia, the African Union or the EU pick up the tab. What have we accomplished when over 6,000 American soldiers have already died to eliminate the risk? The cure has been far worse than the disease.

Translation: “GDP does not reflect how the observer feels the nation should be spending money.” This means the observer would like someone to dictate how the money is spent. GDP measures sales of goods and services by the nation as a whole. The components that make up the GDP are constantly debated among economists and politicians, usually to reflect a favored prejudicial view of how money should be spent.

As always, when one drills down to the net effect of economic policy, we face the issue of who makes the choices, people from the private sector or the government. Private sector equals individuals plus the producers who compete for consumer dollars.

Concerning GDP, 40 percent is government spending, federal, state and local, where citizens have minimal choice. Private sector relates to spending choices made in sustaining personal, family and business needs and preferences.

Question: Will the editorial page dictate that its spending preferences be allocated to GDP spending under the private sector or the government column? Keep in mind that all spending comes from working, tax-paying citizens, who should have maximal control concerning how their money is spent.